Al Ittihad held off a second-half push Al Nasr to secure a 2-1 win, with George Ilenikhena scoring twice before Angelo pulled one back for the visitors.
Al Nassr threatened almost immediately when Cristiano Ronaldo He tried his luck from outside the box inside the first two minutes, though Rajkovic made a comfortable save.
But it was Al Ittihad who made the breakthrough.
After Steven Bergwijn was denied by Nawaf Al Aqidi, Ilenikhena struck in the fourth minute, heading into the bottom left corner to give the home side the perfect start.
Al Nassr looked for an immediate response but Al Ittihad continued to threaten and doubled their lead in the 22nd minute.
Houssem Aouar split the visiting defense with a through ball to Ilenikhena, who kept his cool before firing a left-footed finish into the bottom right corner.
Finally, the visitors began to create more openings as the first half progressed.
Ronaldo released Joao Felix with a through ball in the 34th minute, but Rajkovic saved his effort from the center of the box.
Two minutes later, Al Nassr found their way back into the contest. Angelo collected the ball in the area and finished with his left foot to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Rajkovic keeps Al Nasr out
Al Nassr pushed for an equalizer after the restart and Joao Felix tested Rajkovic from a difficult angle in the 53rd minute.
Ronaldo had another chance five minutes later after being picked out by Angelo, but his left-footed effort from inside the box was caught by the Al Ittihad keeper.
Angelo almost added a second moments later on a quick counter-attack but sent his effort wide.
The pressure continued, with Samu Costa heading Rajkovic past Angelo’s cross in the 64th minute.
Al Ittihad responded by renewing their attack, with Youssef En-Nesyri replacing two-goal Ilenikhena and also bringing on Marwan Al Sahafi.
Al Nassr made changes of their own as Ayman Yahya replaced the injured Kingsley Coman, while Abdullah Al Hamdan and Abdullah Al Khaibari were later sent on.
Joao Félix had two efforts blocked as the visitors continued to push, while Mohamed Simakan headed wide from another Félix delivery.
Al Ittihad survives late pressure
Al Nassr spent much of the closing stages around the Al Ittihad penalty area, winning a succession of corners without finding an equaliser.
The home side still had some threat at the break, with substitute En-Nesyri heading wide before Al Sahafi sent another header over the bar.
Al Nassr’s best final chances came during six minutes of added time.
Sadio Mane forced Rajkovic into another save after being found by Felix in the 91st minute, before Al Hamdan was also denied from the right side of the box soon after.
Ayman Yahya then saw an effort blocked and Al Khaibari fired high and wide with one of the last attempts of the game.
